Farmers Protest Over Unequal Access in Rubber Replanting Scheme

Quick Summary

• Project Launch: The Kerala government, in partnership with the World Bank, launched the KERA (Kerala Climate Resilient Agri-Value Chain Modernisation) Project. The scheme provides a replanting subsidy of ₹75,000 in two phases for rubber growers.
• Selective Coverage: The project is limited to six districts-Malappuram, Kannur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Thiruvananthapuram-excluding key rubber-growing areas like Idukki, Kollam and Thrissur.
• Farmers’ Concerns: Farmers claim that growers availing benefits under this scheme must forfeit a ₹40,000 per-hectare Union government subsidy via the Rubber Board. this reduces the effective additional benefit to only ₹35,000.
• Regional Disparity Allegations: Growers believe the scheme’s selective coverage increases regional disparities among farmers while undermining existing Rubber Board support mechanisms in Kerala.
• Comparison with Northeast States: In northeast India’s similar schemes managed by the Rubber Board exclusively offer up to ₹1.5 lakh assistance without district exclusions.
• Operational Challenges: Critics highlight duplication of work between KERA officials and Rubber Board officers during inspections. Funding constraints are also raised as concerns for long-term sustainability.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The KERA project embodies an intent to modernize agricultural value chains while addressing climate resilience; however, its selective implementation raises notable equity concerns among stakeholders. By limiting eligibility to specific districts and requiring forfeiture of existing subsidies under the Union government via the Rubber Board policy structures already serving farmers might potentially be destabilized.

This shortfall is brought into sharper relief when benchmarked against more inclusive programs in northeastern india that allocate higher financial aid without geographic limitations or administrative overlap. While involving field officers from both entities demonstrates collaborative potential between state-run initiatives and central agencies like the Rubber Board-ensuring this cooperation avoids redundancy will be critical combating allegations Spend optimally incentivse